Operations

Common Cause: Create One Goal to Unite Your Team

Picking a single destination puts you on the right path and will help identify obstacles along the way

“Focus is everything. As soon as you have two goals, even one
that is minor … your product deeply suffers.”

This wonderful quote stunned me with its simplicity. I found its message so powerful that,
at a recent roundtable, I plastered the walls with notes declaring that if attendees took away nothing else from that meeting, they should learn to focus on the one
goal for increased success during the next six months.

When the inevitable question surfaced,
“How can you choose one when we have so many things we need to work on?” we set
to work to define one overarching goal. We came up with this: “To create an
efficient system that delivers construction projects to the field capable of
producing consistent and sufficient net profits.”

It’s simple, yes. But behind that
simple statement lies a wealth of complexity just waiting to bite good
intentions in the foot. For instance:

What sort of system creates
well-defined and written processes that allow the right hire, well-trained, to
produce consistent results over time?

How can we be efficient, delivering
the desired results without excessive waste of either time or money?

What type of construction projects,
for which clients, at what price and schedule?

What constitutes sufficient net
profits? Enough to barely eke out a living or sufficient to provide
employee benefits, owner retirement, and community involvement?

After struggling through the
definitions, the task doesn’t get any easier. Clearly, producing “consistent
and sufficient net profits” requires a long period of focus by many people
deeply involved in the organization’s success.Where Should You Start?

I suggest that you take time to stand back
from the day-to-day demands of your company and determine where to focus your efforts. Here are some possibilities:

Resolve financial insufficiencies,
thereby improving accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of financial
information to allow all team members to better track progress;

Clarify leadership vision, thereby
allowing all team members to communicate clearly about progress toward the
now-crystal-clear targets in each department.

Of course, tactics for each are
essential, as are the development of related metrics, timeliness, and assigned
responsibilities. So let’s drill down on the first strategy—increase production
efficiency—by outlining several tactics and listing who would be responsible for
those tasks. For instance:

Reduce slippage from 5% to 3% by 9/1 (production
manager).

Buy out all trade contractor bids
before final contract signing (estimating).

Write zero punch list process and test
on next two jobs before finalizing system and implementing departmentwide by
8/1 (production manager and sales).

Perform complete job autopsies on
all jobs for the next three months to
identify and correct estimating variances greater than 3% or $1,000–whichever
is greater (production and estimating).

Whatever your company’s model, creating
one goal matters. And by doing so, you’re also identifying the company’s current
obstacles to success. Ultimately, you’ll sharpen both short-term focus and get
onto the path of consistent and sufficient net profits. That’s a good goal,
indeed!

Judith Miller is a Seattle-based business consultant and trainer, and a facilitator for Remodelers Advantage.